Hi People - hope you are all OK. What a great day today. A lot of people did some great things today - Chris Brown (Angie's husband) ran his first marathon today! I still get a kick out of people who do their first event of any distance - be BOLD and put yourself out there - this is what it is all about - win lose or draw - you always feel great after. Chris now has something to shoot for in his next marathon

BE STRONG - BE BRAVE - BE A RUNNER.

There is NO win or lose when you are a runner. You finish, learn a lesson, become stronger, build character and help others - LOVE this sport.

Support and encourage others - that is what it is all about

DO SOMETHING - "IF" you are ahead of me LEAD. "IF" you're behind me follow. IF your're not going to do anything "Get the HELL out of my way!"

enjoy your running

​Dick for FOF

UPCOMING EVENTS:

June 4th - 40th International YMCA CHOK International Bridge Race. Yes, you will start in Port Huron and end in Canatara Park. https://raceroster.com/events/2017/9258/ymca-chok-international-bridge-racePrice Increase tonight

June 18th - 31st Huron House Boys Home. Route is along the waterfront trail in Bright's Grove. https://raceroster.com/events/2017/9712/huron-house-boys-home. Big Family event with a Pancake breakfast at the end.

July 15th - St. Clair River Run. https://raceroster.com/events/2017/12857/st-clair-river-run-2017Price increase tonight.

July 22nd - Bluewater Triathlon and Duathlon with IronKids (July 23rd). What a spectactular event to be involved with all starting and ending at Bright's Grove public School along the water's edge.http://www.bluewatertriathlon.ca/. You can do as a team/individual/Olympic or sprint. oh the choices you have.

Sept 10th - Race for Health https://raceroster.com/events/2017/11752/race-for-health. Starts and ends on the track. How fun is that.

EXTEND YOUR LIFE!

Running may be the single most effective exercise to increase life expectancy, according to a new review and analysis of past research about exercise and premature death. The new study found that, compared to nonrunners, runners tended to live about three additional years, even if they run slowly or sporadically and smoke, drink or are overweight. No other form of exercise that researchers looked at showed comparable impacts on life span.The findings come as a follow-up to a study done three years ago, in which a group of distinguished exercise scientists scrutinized data from a large trove of medical and fitness tests conducted at the Cooper Institute in Dallas. That analysis found that as little as five minutes of daily running was associated with prolonged life spans.After that study was released, the researchers were inundated with queries from fellow scientists and the general public, says Duck-chul Lee, a professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University and a co-author of the study. Some people asked if other activities, such as walking, were likely to be as beneficial as running for reducing mortality risks.High-mileage runners wondered if they could be doing too much, and if at some undefined number of miles or hours, running might become counterproductive and even contribute to premature mortality,And a few people questioned whether running really added materially to people’s life spans. Could it be, they asked rather peevishly, that if in order to reduce your risk of dying by a year, you had to spend the equivalent of a year’s worth of time on the trails or track, producing no discernible net gain?So for the new study, which was published last month in Progress in Cardiovascular Disease, Dr. Lee and his colleagues set out to address those and related issues by reanalyzing data from the Cooper Institute and also examining results from a number of other large-scale recent studies looking into the associations between exercise and mortality.Over all, this new review reinforced the findings of the earlier research, the scientists determined. Cumulatively, the data indicated that running, whatever someone’s pace or mileage, dropped a person’s risk of premature death by almost 40 percent, a benefit that held true even when the researchers controlled for smoking, drinking and a history of health problems such as hypertension or obesity.Using those numbers, the scientists then determined that if every nonrunner who had been part of the reviewed studies took up the sport, there would have been 16 percent fewer deaths over all, and 25 percent fewer fatal heart attacks. (One caveat: the participants in those studies were mostly white and middle class.)Perhaps most interesting, the researchers calculated that, hour for hour, running statistically returns more time to people’s lives than it consumes. Figuring two hours per week of training, since that was the average reported by runners in the Cooper Institute study, the researchers estimated that a typical runner would spend less than six months actually running over the course of almost 40 years, but could expect an increase in life expectancy of 3.2 years, for a net gain of about 2.8 years.In concrete terms, an hour of running statistically lengthens life expectancy by seven hours, the researchers report.Of course, these additions “are not infinite,” Dr. Lee says. Running does not make people immortal. The gains in life expectancy are capped at around three extra years, he says, however much people run.The good news is that prolonged running does not seem to become counterproductive for longevity, he continues, according to the data he and his colleagues reviewed. Improvements in life expectancy generally plateaued at about four hours of running per week, Dr. Lee says. But they did not decline.Meanwhile, other kinds of exercise also reliably benefited life expectancy, the researchers found, but not to the same degree as running. Walking, cycling and other activities, even if they required the same exertion as running, typically dropped the risk of premature death by about 12 percent. (To make my own biases clear, I run but I also love cycling and I walk my dogs every day.)Why running should be so uniquely potent against early mortality remains uncertain, Dr. Lee says. But it is likely, he says, that it combats many of the common risk factors for early death, including high blood pressure and extra body fat, especially around the middle.It also raises aerobic fitness, he says, and high aerobic fitness is one of the best-known indicators of an individual’s long-term health.Of course, the findings in this new review are associational, meaning that they prove that people who run tend also to be people who live longer, but not that running directly causes the increases in longevity. Runners typically also lead healthy lives, Dr. Lee says, and their lifestyles may be playing an outsize role in mortality.But even taking that possibility into consideration, he says, the data suggest that running could add years to our lives.

Good morning and happy long weekend to all. Are you relaxing? Are you having fun? Tapering out as races are fast approaching? Tomorrow is Watford Alvinston. Next weekend is Ottawa. The following; heading into June is the YMCA CHOK Bridge Race to start and then Huron House Boys Home. What is on your agenda?

As I sit here typing away, my son is watching the movie, preFontaine. You see, track season is happening at high school and he has made it to Regional which are happening Friday, the 26th and Saturday, the 27th. in London at Western University with OFSAA in his sights . As I have been watching him submerge in this world and excelling it takes me back to the days when I watched and ran with so many of you. Some veterans, many brand new and watching you make the first min, the first km and seeing the smile come across your face at the wonderment of it all. Never give up. Never give in. Switch it up if there is a setback and come back slowly but don't STOP. Makes sure there is enjoyment in it and encourage those around you now.

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend and see you all out pounding the pavement.

Good morning everyone. TO all the Mom's - everyday is our day but today is celebrations. Enjoy it, be with WHO you want to be with and not because you have to.

For some, races have been completed and now taking the time to rest and re evaluate on what is the next step or event. Volunteering in your down time keeps you connected by watching others and encouraging them along their way. Reach out to the different events as they can always use help.

For those that have races coming up, this is the tapering time. Your training is complete, the long hours, with your mileage are done. You want to be rested at the start line. No aches, twinges and sore spots that will have you not enjoying what you set out to do. Just because it is nice out doesn't mean you go that extra k if it is not in your plan. That extra k could change the end result.

Watford Alviniston is fast approaching. Monday, May 22nd, 2017. Yes Victoria Day. What a great way to round out the long weekend. This is their 60th year. Have you done it? Has it been awhile since you have been. Lots has changed if it has been awhile. Earlier start time, It's $35 til the 17th ONLINE. Then it's $40 CASH RACE DAY ONLY, which means you will have to be there between 6-8am at the Arena to register. Don't delay. This is a great community event. A hill that will get you to feel what the bridge feels like. https://raceroster.com/events/2017/9460/watford-alvinston-road-race. Don't be the guy that that wished. 8 or 16k. GO.

Enjoy your day and remember we run and walk at 6pm on Monday and Wednesday's from OnEdge.

SO SORRY for this blog being so late this week = MY BAD. I was doing a 24 hour ride starting Saturday at 7AM until SUnday at 7AM from Detroit to Columbus Ohio = 376 km. I ws awake from Saturday at 4:30 AM until Sunday night at 8PM hence a blog that would make sense last night was out of the question

Thanks for being patience.

Hope everyone is fine and your runs are enjoyable. Keep them fun and healthy, as this is why we run - to improve our mood and our health - stressing and worrying over an endeavor that is suppose to help us is counter productive - SO - STAY HAPPY

ON Saturday next which is May 13th, the Sarnia Road Runners are having their monthly race in Canatara Park. They are an enduring part of Sarnia's running community - hence if you are running next Saturday, drop over at 9 AM and support this very important part of our community - join or simply pay for the run - you don't have to race - just run with them - see you there

Dick for FoF

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

When a technique-minded runner feels a sense of discipline, effort, and, for want of a better word, neatness in their running, they assume these are a sign their form is correct, or at least better than what they do naturally.But in fact all these sensations are signs that the runner is working harder, and that means their form or technique is actually worse, not better.Let’s step back for a minute and think about what form or technique (I use the words interchangeably) really means in running.Unlike, say, gymnastics or figure skating, aesthetics aren’t a goal of running. You don’t train day after day to make sure there isn’t a pinky out of place and your turnover is dazzling in the hope that the judges will score you higher.The only reason movement matters in running is that it makes it easier to cover ground, allowing you to run either faster or longer or both, while staying healthy.In other words, a feeling of discipline or correctness has nothing to do with the goal of running technique. Instead of that, what you’ll feel when your technique is getting better is that running feels more comfortable and easier.Because it is so hard for us to believe that what is easy is right – let’s not get caught up in why, that’s a whole other can of worms – people sometimes grasp for an exception. Something like, “well my new running technique will be easier once I’m strong enough and/or used to it.”But something is either easier or harder. You know right away. If it’s harder at first, then gets easier once you’re used to it, that’s because you got stronger. And the fact it requires more strength means it’s harder than what you were doing before.We evolved to run; it’s built into our bodies. All running form mistakes come from adding extra effort that doesn’t belong in running, thus preventing you from using your body the way it really works. Your structure and nervous system seek good technique the way water seeks lower ground, and if you don’t erect dams and blockages your movement will flow in that direction. Good form is the path of least resistance.The only way to effectively “work” on your running form is not to work at all, but instead keep feeling for how you can reduce your effort, keep asking yourself where you feel tension or work, and seeing if you can change how you’re moving a little bit so it fades away.You can trust your body to feel what works. You might not be sure at any given moment what’s right, but if you use the easier/harder test you’ll be able to tell what’s better and what’s worse, and over time you’ll feel your way to better running.Jae Gruenke, GCFPJae Gruenke is a Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, running technique expert, and founder of The Balanced Runner™ in New York City and The Balanced Runner UK in Edinburgh, Scotland. Known as a “running form guru,” she has helped runners from beginner to Olympian relieve pain and improve their performance, and she specializes in helping runners whose problems have persisted despite medical treatment.